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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23652052">routines</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/civillove/pseuds/civillove'>civillove</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Prodigal Son (TV 2019)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Companion Piece, F/M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 22:28:15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>6,278</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23652052</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/civillove/pseuds/civillove</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>“This thing with Gil will be fine, he wants both of us to be happy.”  Malcolm and Dani try to navigate the beginning of their relationship. This fic also includes pancakes, kisses and broken heart syndrome.<br/>--<br/>this is a continuation / companion piece to ‘avalanche’. you kinda have to read that first or this won’t make sense. thanks anon for the request!</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Malcolm Bright/Dani Powell</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>118</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>routines</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>This is a continuation of my fic '<a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23583514">avalanche</a>'- it was requested on tumblr that I do a follow up fic :) </p>
<p>--</p>
<p>Dani isn’t one for routines for her personal life, she’s already stuck in a small loop for her professional one. Don’t get her wrong, she loves every moment of it; waking up to put her gun and badge on, working with a team that has a high success rate and being able to make a difference when it counts the most. But with her home life? With her time off? She tries to keep it as interesting as possible, changing up the routine so she doesn’t end up in a rut. She picks different jogging paths, rarely visits the same art museum twice, orders Pad Thai from a variety of restaurants, and takes ceramic and sculpture classes to work her hands more creatively—because sometimes she feels like when she uses her gun all she does is destroy things.</p>
<p>But ever since they closed that case from Central Park and Malcolm asked her to get waffles in her favorite diner across the street, it’s become a habit that she hasn’t kicked.</p>
<p>Almost every time they finish typing up reports at the precinct, like clockwork, Bright meets her at her desk and they find their way to a tiny, hole in the wall diner that has a sticky floor under a specific window booth.</p>
<p>There’s something about this place that just speaks to her; it always smells like something sweet, like homemade pies or cinnamon rolls, she loves the old-fashioned diner counter where you can see the kitchen through a divide and the cook when he sees her walk in always makes sure to wave. The booths have a scarlet cushion and the tabletops remind her of rubbed down pearls, the only thing updated is the menus.</p>
<p>She doesn’t really consider a lot of places to be <em>hers </em>but after too many pancake plates and crispy bacon with semi-burnt coffee, Dani figures she mise well accept the inevitable. Though maybe…</p>
<p>Worrying her lower lip between her teeth, she grabs a menu to look at even though she knows what she’s going to order as she slides into a booth to take her coat off.</p>
<p>When exactly does something of hers become <em>theirs </em>if her and Malcolm keep up this routine that they’ve created?</p>
<p>
  <em>Dani pulls the sleeves of her sweater down as they exit the booth, Malcolm reaching for her hand as they leave behind a table full of empty, syrupy plates. She settles into his side as they walk, letting out a deep, sated breath even though she feels like she ate too much. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Do you think…” She trails off for a moment, a thought she’s had bouncing against the walls of her brain since they closed the case finally bubbling to the surface, “Adam Rukon really loved Shannon? That’s what he said to me before—”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Before you shoved his face into the grass with your knee?” Malcolm smiles a little, his voice a mix between amusement and admiration. “No, I don’t think so. What Rukon felt for Shannon was just obsession, he made up the intensity of their relationship in his own head.” </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>She hums softly as Bright pushes the door to the diner and holds it open for her as she exits, “Well if he made it all up, it could have felt like love to him.” </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>He smiles a little as they walk across the street to her car, his thumb tracing the line of her knuckles, “Are you trying a hand at profiling?” </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Dani lets out a huff, shaking her head, “God no, wouldn’t want to get so good at it that your job becomes irrelevant.” </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Malcolm laughs, his head tilted back a little as he squeezes her hand. She rounds to face him, pausing outside of her car as a comfortable silence settles between them. Glancing down at their hands, she wonders why it took so long to get to this moment, their fingers seeming to lace so organically that it feels like it’s always been like this. And maybe it has, in a way.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>She straightens her shoulders, her other hand digging her car keys out of her back pocket, “Do you need a ride home?”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“No,” He shakes his head and motions behind him, “Think I might walk, take the subway. Weather isn’t too terrible and I’m still wired from the case.” </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Are you even going to try and sleep tonight?” She asks, unlocking her car.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“There will definitely be some attempts,” He smiles a little, his chin dipping as he squeezes her hand again. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>When Malcolm tries to pull away, Dani won’t let him, tugging him back to her. Bright hesitates slightly, his eyes trailing from her own and down to her lips as she tows him closer. Despite him needing the hint, they lean in at the same time and she brushes their mouths together before claiming a soft kiss. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Malcolm smiles, she can feel it more than see it and even though he’s not that much taller than her, Dani presses herself up on her toes to join their lips in another kiss. This one lasts and he wraps an arm around her waist while both of her arms rest on his shoulders, tilting her head to deepen it. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>She was right; he tastes exactly like syrup. </em>
</p>
<p>“Why are you acting like you’re going to order anything other than pancakes?”</p>
<p>Dani smiles as she hears Malcolm from behind her as he approaches the booth, looking up at him when he comes to stand at the table. He shrugs his coat off and leans down to brush a kiss across her forehead before he slides into the seat across from her, unbuttoning his suit jacket.</p>
<p>“You’re late.” She says, lying the menu down because he’s right—she’s about to order the same thing she always does.</p>
<p>“Sorry,” Malcolm leans back as a waitress sets down two cups of coffee, giving them a few more minutes with the menu. She’s not their regular, who’s a bright-eyed middle-aged woman that goes by the name <em>Bunni</em> on her nametag. “I got stuck trying to talk my mother out of yanking me to another charity event.”</p>
<p>Dani rips open a few packets of sugar and dumps them into her mug, “But you clean up so nice.”</p>
<p>He smirks at the teasing tone of her voice, taking the spoon out of his napkin and plops it into his mug. He doesn’t really take sugar or milk but he enjoys stimming with stirring, playing with the spoon and sometimes twirling it like a fork in spaghetti.</p>
<p>“A bowtie is not equally traded for all the uncomfortable schmoozing I have to do.”</p>
<p>She winces, “That bad?”</p>
<p>Bright leans across the table a little bit, narrowing his eyes as if it somehow demonstrates his point, “I want you to picture a shark tank but they’re all wearing tuxedos.”</p>
<p>A laugh bubbles up in her chest and she stirs in a few more packets of sugar, “Is your mom a great white or is she a poor unsuspecting diver in this analogy?”</p>
<p>“Shark,” He says, almost too fast, “Definitely the shark.”</p>
<p>Dani watches him fiddle with the spoon as the waitress approaches with her notepad, ready to scribble down their orders. She gets a plate of chocolate chip pancakes and Malcolm surprises her by ordering waffles. He’s usually never in the mood to eat, tells her that he’s not hungry and that the way she smothers everything in syrup is enough of a sight for him. But sometimes he’ll get a plate of something to pick at. Personally, she likes when he gets a muffin or a cinnamon roll so she can steal some of it—waffles leave nothing for her grab with her fork.</p>
<p>“You could at least get blueberries or something.” She points out as the waitress leaves.</p>
<p>He smiles a little and shakes his head, stirring his spoon around in his coffee. “I forgot you practically order breakfast for four people when we’re here.”</p>
<p>“I just like having options.” She shrugs innocently and takes a sip from her mug before motioning to his, “I hope you don’t mind that I ordered you coffee, the tea here is still debatable.”</p>
<p>He taps his fingers against the ceramic, “The mugs are too big and you’re impatient, you don’t let the tea bag steep long enough.”</p>
<p>Dani scrunches her nose, leaning back in her seat until her knees lean against his under the table. “Are you trying to tell me how to do my tea?”</p>
<p>“No, that would include a conversation about how much sugar you use but I don’t think you’re ready for that yet.” He fingers at the empty paper packets she’s torn open near her forearm before putting his hand on hers.</p>
<p>She turns her wrist a little so that they’re holding hands, her thumb tracing circles into his palm. The diner is pretty quiet but she supposes she shouldn’t be surprised for nine o’clock at night, an older couple in the corner of the diner and a few others at the counter drinking coffee. She’s trying to think of the last time she was at this place during normal breakfast hours.</p>
<p>Dani straightens her back, letting the bones of her spine pop—she’s looking forward to heading home after this and crawling in-between her sheets and comforter. This past case was a little heavy on everyone, violent rape victims found in an alleyway and luckily, they were able to find the guy and save a fourth woman from suffering the same fate. Being able to take someone off the street like that felt good but sometimes it was hard for her to leave work at the precinct. It feels like cinder blocks are strapped onto her shoulders and eventually, she knows she’ll be able to chip it down until it disappears…but until then she has to live with it.</p>
<p>She pushes those thoughts away, licking her lips and tasting residual sugar in the corners of her mouth. Her gaze falls onto Bright, following the long lines of his blue suit that bring out the color of his eyes. She enjoys that they can just sit in one another’s company sometimes, not needing to fill the silence with unnecessary small talk. His hand stays consistent on hers, fingers a soft pressure against her own as they wait for their food.</p>
<p>Her stomach growls in the anticipation of pancakes and Malcolm must be able to hear it because a quirk of a smile appears before he hides it with a sip of coffee. It’s strange sometimes, when she allows herself to think about it, how <em>effortless </em>this is—being with him. Dani’s not naïve, she knows that this is the easy part, sharing breakfast at nine-thirty at night after a case. They both have their own set of walls, of problems, of things they’ll eventually have to work through together but she can’t deny that she enjoys the layer of intimacy settled upon their friendship.</p>
<p>It allows them to take everything one step at a time, to solidify becoming an <em>us, </em>a <em>theirs. </em></p>
<p>She leans back against the booth as the waitress delivers their food, putting a container of syrup and a plate of butter between them. Dani hurriedly goes for the butter, not wasting any time, Malcolm letting her use everything before he does. He’s made a joke before that it’s better this way because he’s afraid of getting his hand slapped with the butter knife…he’s not exactly wrong.</p>
<p>“So,” She says after a moment, cutting her pancakes with her fork, “We’ve been doing this for what, a month?”</p>
<p>Malcolm looks up at her from his plate of waffles, purposely taking his time to make sure butter ends up in almost every ridge. “What, breakfast at odd hours of the day or kissing?”</p>
<p>She smiles a little and licks her lips, <em>fair assessment, </em>“I was talking about the latter.”</p>
<p>He scrunches his nose, his mouth opening with a question hanging in the air because he’s having trouble figuring out which one she’s actually referring to. She swallows a mouthful of pancakes before clearing her throat,</p>
<p>“The kissing.”</p>
<p>“Ah,” He pauses on pouring syrup, picking up his mug of coffee to take a sip. “Is this where you make sure I’m not seeing other people?” She kicks his shin under the table and he laughs gently, “Yeah, about a month. Why are you asking?”</p>
<p>“I was just wondering…” Dani trails off a moment, trying to figure out what best way to phrase this, “With all that…profiling without permission thing that you do—”</p>
<p>“Hey,” He interrupts and points his fork at her, “It’s not my fault that people openly display their tells to me.”</p>
<p>Dani makes a face, “Can you <em>tell </em>I’m getting annoyed with you?”</p>
<p>Malcolm smiles a little, pours syrup over his waffles and puts a forkful of them into his mouth instead of replying.</p>
<p>“I’m just wondering if you can tell if the rest of the team knows about us and hasn’t said anything yet.”</p>
<p>It’s not that she wants to keep this thing between them a secret or anything but it’s not a surprise that her career is important to her—she doesn’t want to jeopardize that for anyone. Her integrity and ability to do her job is something she’s worked hard for and she wants to be able to have both, a balance that’s going to be hard to be maintained but worth it.</p>
<p>Dani just wants to make sure she can get ahead of it…like being able to talk to Gil before he finds out.</p>
<p>“Edrisa knows, she’s incredibly observant. She also stopped inviting me down to the morgue to look at strange body anomalies when she does autopsies.” She raises an eyebrow and Malcolm shakes his head, “Don’t ask.”</p>
<p>Dani pours more syrup than is probably necessary but Bright’s adapted to not making faces as he watches her sop it up with pieces of pancake. She hums as the chocolate settles on her tongue after taking another bite; the familiar sugary sweet extremely comforting as he continues.</p>
<p>“As for JT, he cornered me in the break room and said that if this ended badly that I should be more afraid of you than of him.”</p>
<p>Her lips twitch a little, JT sounding a like a typical older brother that she doesn’t exactly need but appreciates. “I’m harmless.”</p>
<p>A soft laugh leaves Malcolm’s lips as he cuts a piece of his waffle, “I’ve seen <em>and </em>felt you throw a punch before.”</p>
<p>Dani covers her mouth a moment so he can’t see her smile and decides to focus in on her breakfast instead of commenting. She cuts a few more triangles into her pancake, Malcolm messily adding more butter to his waffles. Even though they’re both enjoying their food, she can tell that the profiler still has something else he wants to say because he very obviously left out one member of the team, the one person she’s most concerned about.</p>
<p>They both hold Gil in such a high regard, a tangled past of trauma and needing direction to which he came to both their aid. Dani knows that Bright sees him as a father figure and while nothing can replace her own father, Gil sometimes is like the dad she lost a long time ago. The last thing she wants to do is somehow disappoint him even though she’s almost certain this wouldn’t be a big deal.</p>
<p>But that doesn’t change the fact that the worry is gnawing inside of her.</p>
<p>She can feel Malcolm’s gaze on her, doing that thing where he tries to read words that haven’t left her lips yet, hidden underneath her skin and swimming in her eyes. She shifts in her seat, glancing up at him as he takes a sip of his coffee. She sighs gently, absently leaning her shin into his leg to ground her thoughts. The connection of their bodies seems to be all the encouragement he needs before he leans forward,</p>
<p>“Gil?”</p>
<p>Dani licks her lips, “Does he know?”</p>
<p>There’s a few thoughts playing on the tip of Bright’s tongue and he doesn’t say anything for a few moments before he shakes his head, “I don’t think so. Gil’s a pretty straightforward guy, I don’t think he’d purposely give us the cold shoulder.”</p>
<p>She groans a little, curling her hair around her ear, “Are you sure? Maybe he’s trying to make a point.”</p>
<p>He smirks, “Are you worried about telling him?”</p>
<p>The entertainment in his voice somehow aggravates her a little as he reads her so seamlessly, so she throws a question back at him, “Are you eating waffles because you want to or because you know I like it when you do?”</p>
<p>She’s pretty sure she knows the answer to that, it’s in Malcolm’s eyeroll as he reaches for her hand again on the table. He squeezes her wrist, his thumb tracing the veins underneath the sleeve of her shirt. Holding her gaze, she feels a calming wave settle on top of her and wash down her back, removing some of the debris from the heavy cinderblocks that are still there.</p>
<p>“This thing with Gil will be fine, he wants both of us to be happy.”</p>
<p>Dani nods softly, a smile touching her face despite nerves nipping at the bottom of her stomach.</p>
<p>He seems pretty confident; she just hopes he’s right.</p>
<p>--</p>
<p>Dani plans on telling Gil the next time she sees him but life gets in the way, there’s another case that requires the team’s attention and it feels wrong for her to square off minutes to tell her boss that she’s dating Malcolm when there’s a killer to catch.</p>
<p>She tells herself that it isn’t a big deal, that she’ll be able to talk to him after the case is over—but one victim turns into two, turns into three and they’re not any closer to catching anyone. This spans out for over three weeks, everyone becoming a little edgy to the fact that they’re missing something, that someone is getting away with this right under their noses.</p>
<p>Their victims are three men, all white and in their thirties, in relatively good health that all had heart attacks. The only connection that they’ve made is that they were all killed during wedding receptions, the wives lacking motive and securing legit alibis. They’ve managed to narrow down that they’re looking for someone that isn’t part of the wedding party, a vendor, a caterer or a bartender and by the time a third victim has an autopsy completed, Bright has a better hold on what profile they’re going with.</p>
<p>He steps into the conference room with a mug of tea and sets it down in front of Dani, picking up an autopsy file of the third body that Edrisa’s brought up.</p>
<p>“Same M.O.?” He asks her, flipping through the pages.</p>
<p>She nods and crosses her arms over her chest, “Same toxic levels of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug.”</p>
<p>“Ibuprofen,” Malcolm fills in for everyone else, glancing at JT with a soft smile before chewing on his lower lip. His eyes graze over a few lines in the file, “Which led to the cardiac event?”</p>
<p>“That’s cause of death,” Edrisa rocks back on her heels, “Same as the previous two. Takotsubo cardiomyopathy.”</p>
<p>He makes a soft noise of <em>approval </em>and slaps the file against the palm of his hand, probably a bit too giddy for his own good but she can tell he’s onto something. The puzzle pieces of his profile are finally clicking together in his brain as he moves towards the white-board, one hand on his chest,</p>
<p>“Dude, you should not be smilin’ like that.” JT says but there’s the tiniest bit of amusement there that makes Dani smile against the rim of her mug as she brings it up to her lips to take a sip. They all know this behavior is par for the course when Bright feels like he’s made a connection on a case.</p>
<p>“Broken heart syndrome,” He says suddenly, patting his chest like a rhythmic heart beating.</p>
<p>JT raises an eyebrow and glances at her like he has to confirm Malcolm’s thought process before asking, “That’s a real thing?”</p>
<p>“That’s just what it’s called,” And Bright has to stop himself from demonstrating a heart with his bare hands, deciding to stick them in his pockets so he doesn’t go overboard, “It's usually temporary, but with the right stressful circumstances, broken heart syndrome causes small arteries to constrict.”</p>
<p>Dani leans up in her chair a little, putting her elbows on the table as she draws her legs up to cross them. “Because of the pain it causes, it literally feels like your heart is breaking.”</p>
<p>He holds her gaze for a long moment before dipping his chin, “Exactly. Except these men didn’t have true broken heart syndrome.”</p>
<p>Gil frowns because that’s the moment he’s lost, taking a step forward to look at the male victims and autopsy reports that Edrisa has completed. “Thought you just said that’s what the cause of death was.”</p>
<p>“It was, but broken heart syndrome is usually caused by stress—divorce, losing a job, loss of someone close.” Edrisa takes the words out of Bright’s mouth, motioning towards the high levels of ibuprofen, “But these men were overdosed, which caused the same sort of heart irregularities.”</p>
<p>“Our killer,” Malcolm picks up, Edrisa leaning against the white-board as she sticks her hands in her white jacket, “Wants us to sympathize with her and the broken heart she has.”</p>
<p>Dani runs her teeth over her lower lip, “And you’re sure it’s a female?”</p>
<p>He nods softly after a moment, crossing the room slowly as he takes a look at the white-board when he walks backwards. He picks up the mug from her hands to sip on the tea, clearing his throat,</p>
<p>“Not that a woman isn’t capable of this but there’s no…savagery to the murders. The men are taken from the women that they love on their wedding day and, in turn, the brides are given broken hearts.”</p>
<p>She watches as Malcolm trails off, Gil discussing something with JT about the victim pool and going through the files of the workers of each of the weddings to find a connection. Edrisa bows out at some point, heading back down to her office to get other work done.</p>
<p>Bright’s glancing over the white-board, blue eyes flitting from one victim photo to the next as he considers something but doesn’t say it, fingers stimming on the side of the mug. The ceramic makes soft noises as he drums his touch against it, nearly echoing in her ears because he’s standing so close.</p>
<p>Dani gently touches his forearm and he seems to jerk a little, not expecting her, as if he’s forgotten she’s in the room right next to him. He looks down and offers a small smile that isn’t quite there and she files that reaction away for later,</p>
<p>“Did you bring that in for you or me?” She teases quietly, referring to the grip he still has on the cup of tea.</p>
<p>“Oh,” He sets it down in front of her, running the palms of his hands over his suit jacket as Gil and JT walk closer to them.</p>
<p>Her partner takes a seat next to her as Gil leans his hands onto the table to address the action plan coming together in his mind, “Kid, anything we can use to narrow down the amount of files we have to go through?”</p>
<p>Bright brings his hand up to his face, thoughtfully running his fingers over his jawline, “Female, most likely in their twenties and they’ll have just lost someone close to them. My guess either a divorce or funeral…this woman lost someone that she loved.”</p>
<p>Gil nods and brings over a box full of worker resumes that were at all three weddings for them to filter through. She leans over the table and grabs a few files as their boss slips out of the room to make a few phone calls. Malcolm picks up her mug and mumbles something about getting her more tea and heads to the breakroom before she can assure him that she doesn’t need anyway.</p>
<p>She watches after the direction that he’s gone in for a few moments before biting down on the inside of her cheek.</p>
<p>“Kinda makes you reconsider relationships, ya know?” JT mumbles tactlessly as he grabs a few files of his own.</p>
<p>Dani looks over at him, purposely stomps on his foot as she gets up and follows Bright to the staff lounge.</p>
<p>--</p>
<p>She presses the door open and lets it close behind her, Malcolm leaning against the counter next to the fridge as he waits for the electric kettle to heat up. He glances over at her, sticking one of his hands in his pockets as he straightens his back. She approaches him carefully, tilting her head to try and catch his line of sight and hold it—because despite the fact that he’s not saying anything, she knows something is wrong.</p>
<p>That’s the thing about Bright; for most people, when they’re upset their walls tend to grow, they add barbed wire, ‘keep out’ signs and distractions so there’s no chances of going over them. But when he’s upset, his wall begins to crumble and fall in heavy pieces, making it easier for her to <em>see </em>him, for her to try and figure out what’s wrong.</p>
<p>“You okay?” She asks after a moment, leaning her hip against the counter.</p>
<p>Malcolm takes another mug down from the cabinet and nods, fishing through a drawer for another Earl Gray teabag.</p>
<p>“I may not be a profiler or anything but you’re a terrible liar.”</p>
<p>That earns her the softest of smiles and he nods, ripping the teabag open to put into the mug before he turns to give his attention. She wishes they had actual time to do this dance, for her to walk through what’s going on with him but they’re in the middle of a case—and the last thing she wants is for this to get in the way of the work they have to do. They have minutes bought while the water brews and she tries to give him space at the same time she <em>presses </em>because the job comes first. It has to.</p>
<p>“I was just thinking about us,” He says but the thought sounds unfinished, like he’s still putting together a profile that he doesn’t know where it leads to.</p>
<p>There are dots he hasn’t connected, which is very unlike him but she supposes it might make sense. While profiles mainly work with his opinion, this relationship is about the both of them—he can’t complete it without her.</p>
<p>Dani tries to follow his line of thinking, curling her hair around her ear, “Wedding receptions? Is this your way of asking me to that charity thing your mom is dragging you to because you’re going to need to buy me another dress.”</p>
<p>He smiles suddenly, not quite meeting his eyes but it’s more genuine than before. When the tea kettle begins to blink, he disconnects it from the heat pad and pours hot water into their mugs, chewing over words in his mouth.</p>
<p>She lets out a soft but patient sigh, “Bright, we don’t have time for this right now—”</p>
<p>“I don’t want to hurt you,” He says abruptly, his voice almost pinched as he turns to look at her. There’s so much emotion swimming in his eyes that she suddenly feels like she’s on a boat being tossed about by waves.</p>
<p>She shakes her head slowly, eyebrows pinching together with confusion as she attempts to figure out what could have led him to this conclusion. “Broken hearts?” She asks and he looks away, gaze falling to the floor. Dani takes a step forward into his space, letting her hand fall on his wrist, the contact of their skin warm and grounding.</p>
<p>“Are you going to break my heart, Malcolm Bright?” There’s the softest of teasing in her voice, trying to get him to smile but he swallows and turns his hand so he’s squeezing her fingers, holding her gaze with a blue that’s beginning to frost over.</p>
<p>“I’m being serious.”</p>
<p>For once, the silence is uncomfortable, like sparklers crackling against her eardrums. It seems to settle on her nerves and joints like there are fingers attempting to dig in, to pull her apart. She knows that Bright isn’t perfect but it’s irrelevant because <em>no one </em>is, and neither is any relationship for that matter. They both have issues, they both have pasts and baggage, skeletons in their closets and blood-red guilt staining their hands. It’s probably what makes them so compatible in the first place.</p>
<p>“So am I,” She says after a moment, making sure he’s looking at her before she says, “We both got our own shit but you can’t make my decisions for me,” Because she knows what he’s doing by trying to have this conversation—he’s trying to give her a way out without saying the exact words. She doesn’t want one.</p>
<p>“I’m in this, whatever that involves. But that doesn’t mean anything unless you’re willing to try too.”</p>
<p>Malcolm lets out a slow breath out of his nose, his fingers tracing her own as he considers her words. He’s quiet for a long moment, their tea over-steeped, JT probably ready to send out a search party for them after the number of files he’s gone through by himself in the conference room—</p>
<p>But she doesn’t press, she can’t. So she waits.</p>
<p>He nods once, straightening his shoulders as he leans forward and presses a long kiss to her forehead. Dani closes her eyes at the touch, savoring it before he pulls back and hands her a mug of tea.</p>
<p>“All in.” He says softly, a promise, before they walk back to the conference room.</p>
<p>--</p>
<p>Once they narrow down the files to three potential women, they’re able to deduct that Barbra Ketshel is who they’re looking for based off a nasty divorce that she’s stuck in the middle of and the fact that she was serving champagne at a wedding in Brooklyn that upcoming weekend. The take down is quiet and discreet compared to the <em>last </em>reception they crashed; Dani didn’t even have to dress up this time.</p>
<p>Which, according to Bright, was a shame.</p>
<p>The bride was so thankful that she offered pieces of her wedding cake to the whole team and despite Gil modestly declining, her and JT took big chocolate chunks back to the precinct. She eats the whole thing on the ride back, getting icing on her nose in the process. Malcolm makes sure to lean over and kiss her, gently swiping her skin clean with the pad of his thumb.</p>
<p>It’s just beginning to rain and Dani turns to dig in the backseat of her car for an umbrella because they managed to park a few blocks away, Bright glancing out the front window to check out the cloud formation. He gives this percentage off the top of his head about how likely it is to stop raining and she bites her tongue on giving him shit for sounding like a half-assed weatherman.</p>
<p>“Diner after we type up reports?” She asks, a hopeful tilt to her voice.</p>
<p>They both know they’re not about to deny her that even when he replies, “Even after you ate that huge piece of cake? You still have room for pancakes?”</p>
<p>She scoffs as she opens up her car door, mock offense clouding her tone as her hand falls onto her chest, “It’s like you don’t know me at all.”</p>
<p>Malcolm rolls his eyes, a soft yet fond smile pulling at the corners of his mouth as he tugs her underneath the umbrella and they begin to walk towards the precinct.</p>
<p>--</p>
<p>Dani yawns as she stretches her arms over her head, pressing send on her report before closing her laptop. Malcolm stands at the motion, grabbing her leather jacket and holding it up for her so she can slip her arms through. A soft smile finds its way onto her face at the gentlemanly action, flipping her hair out from under the collar as he pulls his own coat on.</p>
<p>Another case, another plate of pancakes.</p>
<p>They’re walking past Gil’s office when he comes out the door, stopping right in front of them, “You two, my office.” He motions them into the space with a head tilt and Dani feels her heart drop right into her stomach.</p>
<p>Malcolm visibly swallows and places a hand on her lower back to guide her inside, the door closing behind them as Gil moves to sit on the corner of his desk, arms folding across his chest. He blinks, waiting for one of them to say something and Dani suddenly feels like she’s back in middle school, the principal staring her down until she admits that she punched a boy in gym for saying she ran like a girl.</p>
<p>She lets out a slow breath, rocking back on her heels as she glances at Bright who looks frustratingly calm, his hands in his pockets as he purses his lips.</p>
<p>It’s a very long, very <em>quiet </em>moment before Gil says, “Do you two think I’m stupid.” It’s not a question and Malcolm actually opens his mouth to reply before he’s waved off, “Don’t even think about answering that, it’s rhetorical.”</p>
<p>Dani smiles a little and has to bite down on her lower lip to stop it from happening. She clears her throat, “Was it that obvious, boss?”</p>
<p>“You’re about as subtle as JT trying to take two slices of cake from that wedding reception we were just at.”</p>
<p>She clicks her tongue off the roof of her mouth, “It <em>was </em>chocolate with buttercream ganache…”</p>
<p>Gil sighs and she can see the exact instant that he rolls his eyes to the ceiling before running a hand over his face. He considers them for a moment before Malcolm clears his throat, “We weren’t trying to hide it from you, we were just waiting for the right time.”</p>
<p>“Which didn’t seem like in the middle of wedding murders.” She clarifies, rubbing the back of her neck.</p>
<p>Bright nods his head once before taking a step forward, “It won’t get in the middle of work.”</p>
<p>Gil holds the younger man’s gaze before he seems to accept it, his body relaxing with the action. He stands from the corner of his desk and even though he doesn’t say anything, Dani can tell that he’s trusting them with that promise.</p>
<p>“Just so you know, JT had a bet running that you wouldn’t tell me by the end of this case and as far as he’ll understand, you told me <em>before</em> we went to the wedding reception.”</p>
<p>Malcolm blinks and Dani laughs gently, <em>so </em>okay with that little white lie—serves JT right for betting on her relationship behind her back anyways. “Fair enough,” She loops her arm through Bright’s and begins tugging him towards the door. “We’re going to the diner across the street if you want to join us with your winnings.”</p>
<p>Gil smirks and waves them off as they head out.</p>
<p>--</p>
<p>“That could have gone worse.” Bright says after a moment, picking at a cinnamon roll in front of him.</p>
<p>Dani leans across the table and steals the center where there’s the most icing. He gives her a look, to which she smiles and licks frosting off her thumb, “We didn’t get fired so, really, I consider it a win.”</p>
<p>Malcolm opens his mouth to say something else but JT’s voice comes in from behind her, “So this is seriously a thing you guys do and didn't think to invite us?” She turns but bodies are already slipping into the booth that they’re at.</p>
<p>Edrisa crams in beside Malcolm while JT smooshes her against the window, Gil pulling a chair up at the end and making the table feel incredibly small.</p>
<p>“Oh, is that a cinnamon roll?” Edrisa asks with a grin but doesn’t wait for Malcolm to tell her before she’s tearing off a piece and he smiles a little and pushes the plate towards her.</p>
<p>Dani lets out a huff and smacks JT with her fork when he tries to take a chunk out of her pancakes, Bright leaning his chin into the palm of his hand on the table, “Yeah, she does that, I’d be careful if I were you.”</p>
<p>“What you don’t know how to share all of a sudden?” JT asks as Gil takes a menu from behind the napkins.</p>
<p>“How are the omelettes here?”</p>
<p>“Debatable,” Bright says at the same time Dani replies, “Delicious.” And she narrows her eyes at him, trying to shove his shin under the table. He catches her ankle and pulls her closer, not allowing her to budge as he holds her leg against his.</p>
<p>She smiles, chewing on her lower lip, finally surrendering her pancakes to JT as the waitress comes over to take new orders.</p>
<p>It’s cramped and a little suffocating but somehow, in the best way. The table is filled with plates, conversation and laughing until her sides hurt. She still steals part of Malcolm’s cinnamon roll when he orders another one and Dani distantly realizes that even though she doesn’t like routines for her personal life…</p>
<p>That this new one could be a good thing.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>thank you for reading! kudos and comments are always appreciated :) i'm over at blainesebastian on tumblr!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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